Minimum

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 3840x2160, the recorded data shows a clear hierarchy across the four presets. Low settings deliver an average of 149 FPS, Medium drops to 114 FPS with a minimum of 97 and a maximum of 131, High averages 96 FPS, and Ultra settles at 73 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is substantial, a 76 FPS difference, which indicates that the Ultra preset imposes a heavy rendering load even at 4K. Notably, the Medium preset is the only one at this resolution with min/max data recorded, showing a 34 FPS spread between its lowest and highest frames.

Moving to 2560x1440, performance scales upward across all settings. Low hits an average of 223 FPS, Medium reaches 203 FPS with min/max of 172 and 233, High averages 178 FPS, and Ultra maintains 136 FPS. The delta between Low and Ultra here is 87 FPS, slightly larger than at 4K, which suggests the CPU or game engine begins to influence frame pacing more as resolution drops. The Medium preset again provides the only min/max window, with a 61 FPS spread, indicating more variance than the 4K Medium result.

At 1920x1080, the combination reaches its ceiling. Low averages 258 FPS, Medium 234 FPS with min/max of 199 and 270, High 220 FPS, and Ultra 200 FPS. The difference between Low and Ultra shrinks to 58 FPS, the smallest absolute gap across all resolutions. This compression suggests that at 1080p, the frame rate is increasingly bound by CPU throughput rather than GPU capabilities. The Medium preset shows a 71 FPS min/max spread, the widest recorded variance in the entire dataset, which points to occasional frame hitches even at this resolution.

CPU and GPU Roles

The data reveals a shifting balance between the Intel Core i5-9400 and the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D depending on resolution and preset. At 3840x2160, the GPU dominates the workload. The RTX 5090 D’s massive shading capacity, 21760 shading units, is fully exercised, and the frame rate differences between Low and Ultra are large. The CPU’s six cores and six threads, running at a base clock of 2.90 GHz and boost of 4.10 GHz, are sufficient to feed the GPU at 4K, as evidenced by the playable frame rates even at Ultra.

At 2560x1440, the scaling pattern changes subtly. The percentage drop from Low to Ultra is 39%, compared to 51% at 4K, meaning the GPU becomes less of a bottleneck as pixel count decreases. The CPU begins to assert more influence, but the i5-9400 still keeps up, as Ultra remains above 136 FPS. The recorded min/max data at Medium, with a 61 FPS spread, suggests occasional CPU-side stalls, but they do not compromise overall smoothness.

At 1920x1080, the CPU role becomes dominant. The frame rate delta between Low and Ultra is only 58 FPS, and the Medium preset’s min/max spread of 71 FPS is the largest in the dataset. This indicates that the i5-9400’s six threads are nearing their limit for feeding the RTX 5090 D at high frame rates. The GPU, which can render far more frames, is left waiting on CPU instructions. The data implies that for this game, the CPU is the limiting factor at 1080p, while the GPU is the clear constraint at 4K.

Best Settings per Resolution

At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset stays above the 60 FPS playable threshold, averaging 73 FPS. This is the most demanding setting that remains playable at 4K. High averages 96 FPS, Medium 114 FPS, and Low 149 FPS, but Ultra is the highest quality option that still clears the threshold with a comfortable 13 FPS margin.

At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 136 FPS, far above the 60 FPS threshold. All presets are playable, but Ultra is the best choice for visual fidelity without sacrificing smoothness. The margin over the threshold is 76 FPS, which leaves ample headroom for demanding scenes.

At 1920x1080, Ultra averages 200 FPS, the highest quality preset at the lowest resolution. The margin over the 60 FPS threshold is 140 FPS, indicating that the system is not stressed at 1080p even at maximum settings. The data shows that Ultra is the best setting at every resolution, with no need to compromise for playability.

FAQ

Q: Can this PC run Minimum at 4K Ultra settings?

A: Yes, the recorded average FPS at 3840x2160 Ultra is 73, which is above the 60 FPS playable threshold.

Q: What is the highest average FPS recorded for this combination?

A: The highest average is 258 FPS at 1920x1080 with Low settings.

Q: How does the frame rate scale from 1080p to 4K at Ultra settings?

A: At 1920x1080 Ultra, the average is 200 FPS. At 2560x1440 Ultra, it drops to 136 FPS, and at 3840x2160 Ultra, it falls to 73 FPS. The drop from 1440p to 4K is 63 FPS, while the drop from 1080p to 1440p is 64 FPS, showing a nearly linear scaling with pixel count.

Q: Which resolution shows the largest frame rate variance?

A: The Medium preset at 1920x1080 shows the widest recorded min/max spread, with a minimum of 199 and a maximum of 270 FPS, a 71 FPS difference.

Q: Is the CPU or GPU more important for this game?

A: At 3840x2160, the GPU is the dominant factor, as frame rates vary widely between presets. At 1920x1080, the CPU becomes the limiting factor, as the frame rate differences between presets shrink and variance increases.

Q: Are all presets playable at every resolution?

A: Yes, the verdict data shows that High, Low, Medium, and Ultra are all playable at 3840x2160, 2560x1440, and 1920x1080, with all averages above 60 FPS.

How This Combo Ranks

The Intel Core i5-9400 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 D combination ranks 238 out of 3712 tested combos for Minimum. This places it in the top 6.4% of all configurations in the database, a strong result given the CPU’s age. The GPU, which sits in the 92nd percentile of all GPUs, is clearly the driver of this ranking. The CPU, at the 47th percentile, is a mid-range part, but it does not drag the combo down significantly.

The ranking implies that for this game, the GPU matters more than the CPU for overall standing. The RTX 5090 D’s high average benchmark score of 77712, compared to the i5-9400’s 2254 average, shows the GPU contributes far more to the combo’s performance. The 4K Ultra result of 73 FPS is particularly notable, as many lower-ranked combos would struggle to hold 60 FPS at that setting.

The Verdict

This PC can run Minimum with ease at all tested resolutions. At 3840x2160, the Ultra preset averages 73 FPS, clearing the 60 FPS threshold by 13 FPS. All four presets are playable at 4K, with Low at 149 FPS, Medium at 114 FPS, and High at 96 FPS. At 2560x1440, Ultra averages 136 FPS, and at 1920x1080, Ultra averages 200 FPS. The database verdict lists all settings as playable at every resolution, with Ultra recommended as the best setting in each case.

The only caveat is the CPU’s potential to limit frame rates at 1080p, as shown by the wide min/max variance at Medium. However, even with that variance, the average remains far above the playable threshold. For 4K gaming, the RTX 5090 D is the clear workhorse, and the i5-9400 provides adequate support. The system is fully capable of running Minimum at maximum quality across all resolutions.

Similar Performance Alternatives

For the CPU, the Intel Core i7-1068NG7 is the closest rival, with an average benchmark score of 2259, just 0.2% below the i5-9400’s 2254. The Intel Core i3-10305 scores 2264, 0.4% higher, and would behave nearly identically in this game. The AMD Ryzen 5 PRO 1500, at 2246, is 0.4% lower, offering similar performance. The Intel Core i7-10710U, at 2248, is 0.3% lower. All four CPUs are within a 0.8% performance band, meaning swapping to any of them would produce negligible frame rate changes in Minimum.

For the GPU, the AMD Radeon RX 6850M XT is 1.6% faster with an average score of 78940, while the AMD Radeon RX 6650M XT is 1.1% slower at 76904. The NVIDIA Tesla P100 PCIe 12 GB and 16 GB are 2.1% and 2.4% slower, respectively, with scores of 79396 and 79605. These rivals bracket the RTX 5090 D’s performance closely. In practice, replacing the RTX 5090 D with any of these would yield similar FPS results, though the RX 6850M XT would be the only one slightly ahead. The data suggests that the RTX 5090 D’s nearest rivals are all within a 3.5% performance envelope, so the gaming experience would be nearly indistinguishable.